SpaceX Plans New Funding With Backing From Saudi, UAE Investors

A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s investment fund and an Abu Dhabi investment firm are planning to invest in a multibillion-dollar funding round for SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company, according to people familiar with the investor discussions.

Representatives of SpaceX and Morgan Stanley, which is organizing the ongoing funding effort, have told investors that Badeel—Saudi Arabia’s Water and Electricity Holding Company, which is part of the country’s Public Investment Fund—along with the United Arab Emirates’ Alpha Dhabi are both involved in the round, the two people said. The Saudi interest in SpaceX is especially noteworthy because of a dust-up that took place between Musk and the head of the Public Investment Fund. That incident involved Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company.

During a trial in January over Musk’s 2018 claim that he had secured funding to take Tesla private, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said the fund’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, had committed to backing the deal and accused him of backpedaling when it didn’t come together.